Today we open up the Hasbro The Vintage Collection Obi-Wan Kenobi action figure 2-pack, which includes Obi-Wan Kenobi (Showdown) VC290, and Darth Vader (Duel’s End) VC291, for a closer look at their details, articulation, and accessories.

We both really enjoyed the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, especially the climactic battle in the final episode. When this TVC box set was announced, we knew we had to add it to our collection!

Check out our unboxing video –

Obi-Wan Kenobi (Showdown) – VC290

The Obi-Wan figure is wearing his dark brown Jedi robes from the end of the series, and comes with three accessories – blaster, lightsaber hilt, and lightsaber ignited with blade. The accessories fit well into their attachment points (hilt on belt, blaster in holster), and the figure holds the lightsaber well.

I think the facial sculpt does a good job at capturing Ewan McGregor’s likeness, and the hair is styled just like Obi-Wan. The figure has good articulation, and can hold a variety of cool lightsaber combat poses – though I will put this figure on a stand for extra stability.

Darth Vader (Duel’s End) – VC291

The Darth Vader figure has unique battle damage from the series finale – a slashed open helmet revealing Anakin’s face inside, burn/slashes to the chest box, a slashed hole across the back of the cape, and a weathered cape edge. The figure comes with two accessories – lightsaber hilt, and lightsaber with blade (though the peg for the lightsaber hilt didn’t fit into the attachment hole on this figure’s belt).

I really like the unique battle damage on this figure – but the best feature is the broken helmet. Inside we can see Anakin’s yellow Sith eye and scarred head, and the top of the helmet is removable to see the full head sculpt underneath. Really great detail and painting here!

I wish the Darth Vader figure in particular stood up better (my figure will definitely need a stand), but overall, I really like the details and sculpting of these two figures. That slashed open Vader helmet especially looks amazing! What a great way to add that climactic fight scene to our action figure display!

May the Force be with you!

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A new addition to our TVC collection – the Darth Vader (Death Star II) action figure from The Vintage Collection line by Hasbro. This is released as part of the Return Of The Jedi 40th Anniversary, and features Darth Vader with his helmet off as seen towards the end of the film.

We also took the opportunity to compare this figure to the Darth Vader (Dark Times) VC241 figure from the Obi-Wan Kenobi series – it was interesting to see the similarities and differences when holding them side by side.

Check out our unboxing video –

Scroll down for our full photo gallery –

This Darth Vader figure comes with several accessories –

• an additional right hand/glove (to swap out for the severed mechanical hand)
• helmet in 3 pieces – neckpiece (attached to the figure), face plate, and dome
• lightsaber hilt (with peg to attach to the belt)
• activated lightsaber with red blade

As expected, there is a great level of articulation in this figure, which means he poses very well, but I found him a little unsteady when attempting to stand him without an additional base stand (not included). There are articulation points at the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrist, waist, hips, thighs, knees, and ankles. Most of the joints feel nice and tight, but quite loose at the hips for my particular figure.

This figure has two soft goods components – a large flowing black cape, and a lower “skirt” robe. The soft goods are made from the same material, and suit the scale well. The edges are not sealed, they are left raw, so do be careful not to cause any fraying with handling.

I really like the cape in particular – there is a lot of fabric here, which was all tucked behind the figure when packaged. The cape opens up for a full wide shape, like when Darth Vader strides down hallways.

The unmasked Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker face here is quite good. I have seen some speculation that the likeness is a bit of a halfway point between the original Return Of The Jedi actor Sebastian Shaw and later Anakin Skywalker actor Hayden Christensen – I can see a bit of that, but at this scale, it’s pretty hard to tell.

The helmet for this figure is in three parts –

• neck piece (attached)
• face plate (removable)
• dome (removable)

All three parts are made from a softer plastic, that can bend a little when squeezed. I was a little worried about the shape of the helmet parts, as they looked a little misshaped when I got them out of the packaging, but they fit over the head well and hold in place.

The top dome also fits nicely into place – again, I was worried about the softer plastic giving a bit of a distorted or squished shape to the round flared edge of the dome, but it looks good. It wasn’t hard to get the dome nicely into place, that soft plastic slides over the head well.

The helmet almost looks like one complete sculpt when fully on and assembled, except at one spot – underneath the breather section. Those two pieces didn’t quite fully meet seamlessly, so there is a small gap here on my figure. This may be more or less visible on other figures – but of course it’s impossible to tell how well a particular figure will display until you open up the card/bubble and assemble it. Of course it looks very noticeable in these enlarged photos, so it’s less of a gap in person, but still visible.

This figure comes with two options for lightsabers – an activated blade lightsaber that can be held for action poses, and an unlit hilt that can be held or worn on the belt with a small peg on the hilt that fits into a hole on the belt.

Now to compare with the Darth Vader ‘Dark Times’ VC241 figure from Obi-Wan Kenobi – the main difference is of course the helmet. Darth Vader’s helmet has subtle differences from film to film to series, and action figure sculpts have also changed a lot over the years, and some are better than others!

The first obvious difference is the small gap under the ‘breather’ section of the helmet, where it can be removed – though perhaps some figures may have less or more of a gap than the figure I have here.

To my eyes, the rest of the helmet does look very similar. The Death Star II figure has a removable helmet with head underneath, while the Dark Times figure does not have a removable helmet. Usually a removable helmet results in a slightly larger overall scale, to fit the head inside, but here it is not very noticeable at all. I am quite impressed!

• Death Star II VC280 on left – Dark Times TC241 on right

Comparing them in hand, it is obvious that many of the same parts of the ‘Dark Times’ version have been reused here. To my eyes, the main different part is the ‘gloves’ which is accurate, as they are different between Return Of The Jedi and Obi-Wan Kenobi. The paint application on the chest boxes and belt boxes is also different, to be accurate to the film and series, respectively.

• Death Star II VC280 on left – Dark Times TC241 on right

While this figure might not have many differences to the earlier Dark Times version, I do still think it is a worthwhile addition to our collection. We intend to display this figure alongside our Return Of The Jedi action figures, with the options as seen when carded – cut off hand, and helmet removed.

May the Force be with you!

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So many exciting new Hasbro The Vintage Collection figures lately! Celebrating the recent 20th anniversary of Attack Of The Clones, we have the new Anakin Skywalker ‘Padawan’ figure from AOTC – VC244.

We are still quite shocked to find this figure available on local store shelves, as it is still listed for pre-order on most international collectible websites. We were excited to get our first in-hand look at this Anakin figure, especially after the surprise appearance in a flashback in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series! I think Hasbro knew about those scenes, and put this figure in the same assortment as the first figures from the show.

Check out our unboxing video –

Anakin Skywalker ‘Padawan’ is VC244, as he appears in Attack Of The Clones. The backing card features a promotional photo of Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker, from what looks like the Tusken Raider camp scene.

This figure is part of the assortment containing the first figures from the Obi-Wan Kenobi series – all the more interesting after discovering that this version of Anakin does appear in the series in flashback scenes.

Here in New Zealand, this TVC figure retails for NZ$29.99 each – which is approximately US$20.

So, our first look at the figure loose and up close.

This Anakin figure comes with an alternate ‘robotic’ hand, which is quite unique for Hasbro 3.75″ figures. This ‘padawan’ version of Anakin is from Attack Of The Clones – technically the gold version of his robotic hand is only seen in the closing wedding scene on Naboo, so it’s really interesting to see it included as an option here.

As expected, the figure also comes with two lightsaber accessories – a lightsaber hilt with peg that can attach to a hole on the left side of the belt, and an “activated” lightsaber with blue blade, that can be held for action poses. The figure also comes with a removable soft goods cloak, and attached soft goods lower tunic.

First up – the cloak. Anakin has a unique cloak in Attack Of The Clones – the front has strips, which is quite different to other Jedi cloaks. Unfortunately, his style doesn’t translate well in this small action figure scale – the front strips here don’t want to hang down the front. This is mostly due to the way they have been cut/sewn, as part of the back, so they naturally want to hang down the back. I understand a small change like sewing separate strips to the front would increase production time and costs, but it would have been a big improvement.

With a bit of wrestling, the strips do hang down the front, but that creates a bit of bunching at the shoulders. If I want to display this figure wearing the cloak, I would just lie the strips down the back for a cleaner (if not as accurate) look.

Personally, I prefer this figure without the cloak on, which is a shame – not very many Anakin Skywalker figures have come with a cloak. It can be easily removed – it sits on the figure with a loop of cord around the neck – not very accurate, but as Anakin’s cloak doesn’t have standard sleeves, it needs some method of staying attached to the figure and not just falling off.

Taking a closer look at the figure sculpt up close. I like the Jedi tunic details, some good fabric folds and lines here. The plastic lower front tabbards are joined together, so they lie straight and flat – though they do limit the hip articulation a little.

The padawan braid is curved to the front – it isn’t bent so it naturally sits forward. The hands hold the lightsaber well – though considering the options included here like the robotic hand, I wonder why they didn’t include a second lightsaber. Anakin uses other random lightsabers on Geonosis in the arena and in the fight against Dooku, so it would have been fun to include another here. I know I can always grab a spare lightsaber accessory from another figure, but that would have really make this figure into the definitive AOTC Anakin figure.

There are nice points of articulation at the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, knees, and ankles. The knee joints on our figure are quite tight, but better than being too loose. To be honest, most of our figures are displayed standing straight, with most posing done with the upper body, so I don’t really mind – I care more about the arms for lightsaber poses.

The detail continues nicely on the back, with the belt pouches and capsules, tunic fabric folds, and boot strap details all very well done.

Our figure unfortunately has a bit of a paint flaw on the back of the lower tabbards. It’s frustrating, but always a risk with Hasbro figures – thankfully it is on the back, as we very rarely pose a figure facing away, so it won’t be seen once displayed on our shelf.

I particularly like the soft goods lower tunic – it adds a nice touch to the figure, and matches nicely in colour to the top of the tunic. It allows for some flexibility of the legs without having to create large artificial cuts in a plastic tunic.

One of my favourite aspects of this figure is the alternate hand – as well as coming packaged with two standard ‘human’ hands, this Anakin figure also comes with a gold robotic right hand. This allows collectors to create a ‘post-Count Dooku fight’ version of Anakin, as we see him during the wedding on Naboo.

Of course we don’t really see Anakin fighting or holding a lightsaber with this version of his robotic hand (it is black in Revenge Of The Sith, and mostly covered by a glove), but I really like the options here. I always feel nervous pulling off parts like hands, but the switch was relatively easy – the robotic hand sculpt has a hole/gap at the wrist so I was careful not to force it too much when attaching, as it can flex and bend.

The lightsaber hilt accessory attaches nicely to the peg hole on the belt, tight but not too tight. I am not worried about it falling out or coming loose. Of course this attachment method always leaves a hole in the belt sculpt if displaying the figure with the activated lightsaber in hand, but I do think it’s one of the better ways of giving collectors the option of displaying the hilt on the belt – and given the style of the belt clip, the gap is not too distracting within the design.

Overall, a great figure. Yes I am frustrated that the cloak isn’t quite as good as I hoped (it really is tucked behind the figure when carded so you can’t really see it at all before purchasing), but I still like all the other design details. Good sculpt details, good articulation, and I love the alternate hands.

As a big fan of Attack Of The Clones, I am really happy to see a new sculpt of a character from the film – especially as this year marks the 20th anniversary. I hope we see more AOTC figures released this year, especially since there are still many Padme’ Amidala outfits that have yet to be made in the action figure line.

May the Force be with you!

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The time has come – we opened up the brand new TVC Darth Vader figure!

After we featured the new Obi-Wan Kenobi series figures online, we had many collectors ask about the VC241 Darth Vader figure in particular, and if we could show him uncarded to see all the details. The iconic Star Wars villain has been made countless times in the 3.75″ action figure line, with so many different sculpts and repacks – so how does this one compare? After initially deciding to keep our Obi-Wan Kenobi series figures carded, our curiosity got the better of us, so we decided to open them for a closer look.

Check out our unboxing video –

We are still quite shocked to find these figures available on local store shelves. International retailers like Entertainment Earth (affiliate link) and Big Bad Toy Store have these figures available for pre-order, with a release date of November 2022 – that’s still months away. Here they are at our local Farmers department store, sitting alongside the current range of locally available Star Wars toys.

Here in New Zealand, these TVC figures retail for NZ$29.99 each – which is approximately US$20.

Here he is – “The Dark Times” Darth Vader VC241. I found the variant title quite interesting – this version of Darth Vader is “The Dark Times” – just as Obi-Wan Kenobi mentions when talking with Luke Skywalker in A New Hope… “Before the Dark Times, before the Empire”.

The back of the card shows the other figures in this wave, including Obi-Wan Kenobi “Wandering Jedi” and Reva “Third Sister” from the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. It’s kinda funny that a couple of the other figures pictured here, like the Ahsoka Clone Trooper, are still not available here yet. It really is quite exciting to have these new figures available while the series is still airing on Disney+, we are so excited for the final episode!

So, our first look at the figure loose and up close.

This Darth Vader figure comes with four hands – two left hands and two right hands, for a variety of poses.

• An open grip left hand, capable of holding a lightsaber
• A closed grip left hand, in a fist
• An open grip right hand, capable of holding a lightsaber
• An half-open grip right hand, as if pointing or using the Force

As expected, the figure also comes with two lightsaber accessories – a lightsaber hilt with peg that can attach to a hole on the left side of the belt, and an “activated” lightsaber with red blade, that can be held for action poses.

This figure has two soft goods components – a large flowing black cape, and a lower “skirt” robe. The soft goods are made from the same material, and suit the scale well. The edges are not sealed, they are left raw, so do be careful not to cause any fraying with handling.

I really like the cape in particular – it is pleated at the back, to give extra fullness. This means that you can open the cape up for a full wide shape, like when Darth Vader strides down hallways.

There is a great level of articulation in this figure, which means he poses very well, and I found he is quite steady when attempting to stand him without an additional base stand (not included). There are articulation points at the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrist, waist, hips, thighs, knees, and ankles. The joints all feel nice and tight, so the poses hold well.

The helmet has some really nice sculpting and details. The lenses have a red tint, to match Darth Vader’s appearance in Obi-Wan Kenobi. There are also nice accurate silver/grey touches on the cheeks, nose, and tusks of the helmet (as used on the full-sized filming helmets to increase the contrast and visibility of dtails). One aspect which I found interesting – the helmet dome is made from flexible plastic, so the sides can be flexed (it feels like the same plastic as the cod piece, which can also bend). Perhaps this helps when assembling the figure with the soft goods components? In any case, I only noticed it when checking the neck articulation movement.

All up, a fantastic action figure – and I’m glad we opened it up to take a closer look. I know for many collectors, when it comes to a character that we all own several versions of, sometimes getting yet another double doesn’t always fit into the budget alongside new characters being done in the action figure line for the first time. Personally for us, this VC241 Darth Vader is a must-have figure, and in our opinion, one of the best versions Hasbro has ever made.

May the Force be with you!

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Very exciting news – the first three Star Wars The Vintage Collection 3.75″ figures from the Obi-Wan Kenobi series are now available in NZ! They just showed up on store shelves, unannounced, and fans were running out to grab them before they all disappeared. We were very fortunate be to able to get ahold of all three figures at our local store.

These figures were not expected to be released until much later in the year (or even early next year), well after the series had finished airing, so it was a complete surprise to find them available now, let alone locally – even before the US! These figures showed up at local Farmers stores, which had a toy sale on at the time, so fans could grab them at a discounted price as well.

While these figures are already must-haves for our collection, the figures themselves are very well done. The Darth Vader sculpt is one of the best Hasbro has done in recent years, complete with lightsaber hilt, activated lightsaber, and two alternate hands for different poses. Obi-Wan Kenobi comes with a blaster, lightsaber hilt, activated lightsaber, and two versions of the little Lola droid. Reva comes with four lightsabers! One hilt, one activated double-bladed lightsaber, and two single-bladed activated lightsabers, for all your posing needs. All three figures also have soft goods cloaks, which I personally really like for this scale.

I found the variant notes quite interesting – this version of Darth Vader is ‘The Dark Times’ – just as Obi-Wan Kenobi mentions when talking with Luke Skywalker in A New Hope... “Before the Dark Times, before the Empire”. This version of Obi-Wan Kenobi is ‘Wandering Jedi’, while Reva is ‘Third Sister’.

• Darth Vader ‘The Dark Times’ – VC241
• Obi-Wan Kenobi ‘Wandering Jedi’ – VC245
• Reva ‘Third Sister’ – VC242

We may eventually open these figures up, as our 3.75″ figure collection is predominately loose (rather than carded), but right now, these are the only figures with the Obi-Wan Kenobi series backing card design, so we’ll keep them carded for now.

Such a great opening line-up for our Obi-Wan Kenobi series collection – I really hope additional figures aren’t too far way. I definitely need a young Princess Leia and Tala, as well as Bail and Beha Organa!

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Will Hasbro release more Knights of Ren in either 3.75″ or 6″ scale? We don’t know for sure at this stage, but at least we’ve got one representative from that mysterious group of Dark Side acolytes.

Although not named at the time of release (the backing card for this figure only calls him “Knight of Ren”), we now know this character as Ap’Lek. He was a recognisable character amongst the Knights, in some ways, as he used a bladed weapon (Mandalorian executioner vibro-ax, crafted from beskar) that we have previously seen versions of in the collection of Dryden Vos, in Solo: A Star Wars Story, and in Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities at Galaxy’s Edge, Disneyland and Walt Disney World.

The figure itself is nicely sculpted, with layers of leather-like cape over his dark armour. The articulation serves his upper limbs well, allowing a two-handing grip of the vibro-ax, but it’s a little hard to get decent natural-looking decent poses out of his legs, particularly given the way his heavy cloak draws his centre of gravity backwards, hampering his ability to stand unaided. Never-the-less, with the aid of a pegged stand, this guy is a fun, mysterious character to have in our (currently limited, but hopefully due to grow soon) The Rise of Skywalker line-up.

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Although 3.75″ action figures make up a large part of our collection, we haven’t actually picked up many of the TVC 3.75″ Episode 9 figures just yet. This rendition of Zorii Bliss, the new character played by Keri Russell in The Rise of Skywalker, is a really interesting design, and there is just something about the colours and execution of this figure that meant we had to grab it. I believe that she is only packed one per case in the Episode 9 assortments, so she has been a little scarce on the shelves of local toy retailers.

The figure is highly articulated, and comes with a pair of blaster pistols that fit into belt holsters. Unfortunately, she’s a little unstable on her feet, and only has shallow peg holes in her boots, but we’ll overcome that by displaying her on a stand (as we do with most of our figures, to try and avoid painful domino catastrophes) .

Although, at the time of writing, it remains to be seen what role female scoundrel will play in the story along with Poe, Finn, Rey, and Kylo, it it nice to have such a character with such a distinct, new costume style as one of our first Ep9 collectibles.

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Although I personally think that Hasbro/Kenner have never done a bad Gamorrean Guard sculpt, the Vintage Collection VC21 Gamorrean Guard 3.75″ action figure is a masterpiece of sculpting and soft-goods execution.

This iteration of Jabba’s palace guard came with 3 different bladed weapons, a removable helmet, and stylish fur pants. He was released in late 2010, and because of a combination of popularity and low numbers produced, remains relatively rare and sought after.

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